His Finest Hour  A Tribute to Fred Weasley
by Tearlit
Summary: DH spoilers!The Weasley family & friends gather to reminisce after the funeral.


Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing…

A/N – Make my day…review!

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"I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me but because of the path that lies behind me." – Morpheus; The Matrix Reloaded

"The thing about growing up with Fred and George," said Ginny thoughtfully, "is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve." (OP29)

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The Weasley family packed themselves into the tiny kitchen, some on magically expanded chairs, others sitting on the hearth, or in one case on the counter. Even though they were all there, plus Harry and Hermione who had nowhere else to go, and Luna, whose father had still not been found, the kitchen had never seemed so empty. Mrs. Weasley bustled about making tea, passing cups and plates of bread and jam around until everyone had something whether they wanted it or not.

She sat down heavily on one of the expanded chairs beside her husband, who wrapped his arm around her. They remained in silence, staring at the clock that hung once more in its place on the wall; it was now missing one hand and always would be. Bill and Fleur sat across from them; he had his head buried in his hands and she was sobbing quietly into a handkerchief. Charlie had managed a seat close beside his mum and he patted her on the shoulder as he fiddled with his bread. Percy was seated at the other end of the table; he seemed to be at a loss for words while wanting to say something. His mouth kept opening and closing like a fish out of water. George stood by the door, staring at his feet, quieter than anyone had ever seen him, until Ginny came and led him to the last remaining chair at the table that everyone had saved for him. She then returned to the hearth where she squeezed in between Harry and Ron. Harry slipped his arm around her and she leaned back against him; next to her Ron and Hermione mirrored their motions. Luna, gazing up absentmindedly at the ceiling and slowly swinging her feet back and forth, had been perched on the counter for quite some time.

"Fred was so nice," Luna suddenly piped up in her dreamy voice. "Always a lot of fun! Quite loud at times, especially over meals, and some of his jokes were a bit dangerous, but he was a nice boy."

Some of the family looked at her in disbelief, others didn't move. Mrs. Weasley began to sob quietly and Fleur passed her a spare handkerchief.

"I remember in my first year he would cover himself in fur or boils and jump out to scare us all. It was because of that monster, you know, the one that was petrifying everyone. I personally thought it was a Snargled Wraithdummer, but Harry said it was a Basilisk and everyone believed him. George did jumped out to scare people too. You _are_ nice as well, George," she said, nodding at him, "but you aren't dead so I really don't think we should talk about you right now," Luna said, swaying slowly from side to side now.

George looked up at the mention of his name and continued to stare at Luna with a dazed expression, like he didn't quite know what to make of her. Ginny and Hermione had begun to sob in earnest now and Fleur reached back and passed them handkerchiefs as well. Charlie was now glaring daggers at Luna, who remained oblivious as she found something on the ceiling quite interesting.

"I think Fred was really aiming to scare Ginny, and he did at times, but he caught me quite by surprise one day. I dropped my bag and ink went everywhere. I expected him to laugh at me, but he apologized and helped me clean it up. Then in my third year he found a group of older Slytherins taking quite a lot of my possessions away. He traded them my possessions for sweets. I thought he just wanted them for the special powers but as soon as they walked away he gave them back to me. It turned out the sweets made their tongues grow until they were like slimy tentacles. It was quite amusing really…" she laughed a bit then and Charlie stopped glaring at her, instead regarding her thoughtfully.

Bill looked up then and spoke in a hoarse voice, "I remember when I was starting my seventh year, Fred and George were so anxious to come to Hogwarts. The thought of waiting one more year seemed like torture to them. The morning Charlie, Percy and I were to start back Fred and George convinced us all that they were sick. Against her better judgment Mum left them here alone, supposedly sound asleep in their beds. Charlie and I noticed that our trunks were a bit heavier than usual but we didn't think much about it. I just assumed mum had packed some things we had forgotten. After the feast we went up to the common room and whom do we find but Fred and George, sitting there by the fire looking pleased as punch. We discovered they had removed over half of our belongings and hidden them in their room so that they could each fit in one of our trunks."

"That's why we learned how to pick locks the muggle way," George whispered.

Mrs. Weasley blew her nose and said, "I was so mad at you two. I peered in on you when I got home but you had fixed pillows and things so it looked like you were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you and never dreamed you would lock yourselves in your brothers trunks and sneak to Hogwarts!"

"I drug them both down to McGonagall straight away," Bill continued, "and told her what happened. She gave them a sound chewing out and Flooed them straight home."

"Was I ever surprised!" Mrs. Weasley, said, voice stronger now. "My two 'sick' sons came zooming out of the fireplace, with Minerva following right behind to tell me what seemed to have happened. I then had to make them retrieve all of Bill and Charlie's school things so I could send them over straight away."

"But sneaking in wasn't all they did," Charlie said suddenly. "We discovered not too long after that they sprinkled bulbudox powder in everyone's pajamas and sneezewort on all the pillows. They somehow even managed to get up the girl's staircase and fixed theirs too. I still don't know how they managed. They slipped dungbombs into at least half the schoolbooks so that when you opened them they fell and were set off."

"Don't forget the wartcap powder," George said quietly.

"Oh yea, they sprinkled all the armchairs with wartcap powder as well. It didn't take us long to figure out who did it," Charlie finished.

"I found it amazing that I received my first angry letter about them before they even started school," Mrs. Weasley said quietly, a ghost of a smile on her wan face.

"I forgot about that!" Ron said suddenly. "I don't think I've ever heard you yell that loud."

"I don't think she ever walloped them so hard with her broomstick," Ginny whispered.

"I don't know," George said. "We got it pretty good that time but I think there were worse ones. We had a lot of good times, didn't we?"

Everyone nodded and Luna began to wave her arms around happily, as if she was conducting invisible music.

"I can't believe he's gone," George gasped, voice cracking. Ginny got up and perched on the arm of his chair, wrapping her arms around him.

"You just have to focus on the happy times. How many people did you manage to prank that first time?"

"The entirety of Gryffindor House," Bill answered when George remained silent.

"I'm trying to think of Fred's finest hour…" George whispered.

"I know," Percy said and everyone turned to look at him. "It was in your second year and for some strange reason you alone got detention, George."

"I remember that," Charlie said. "That was my last year. Fred was sick so I drug him up to the hospital wing. While we were gone George snuck down to the Care of Magical Creatures classroom and stole all the fire crabs. There were about ten in all. He turned them loose in the courtyard during break. I think about fifty people in all sustained burns and a few got trampled as people began to panic."

"That was funny…he was proud of me for pulling that off alone," George said. "I got a Howler for that; Fred was offended because Mum blessed him out as well, even though he didn't do anything."

"I knew you both cooked it up!" Mrs. Weasley replied.

"How was that Fred's finest hour? Harry asked.

"We're getting there, Harry," George said. "I got a full Saturday of detention with Filch for that, and Fred was quite annoyed that it was to last so long, so he cooked up a plan to disrupt it."

He stopped here, and hastily wiped his eyes on his sleeves.

"I was working in Filches office on the first floor. Meanwhile, Fred nicked a large bucket from the broom closet. He went out and filled it with mud from the lake. He managed a tricky spell…well tricky for a second year anyway, to multiply it. So he ended up with hundreds of buckets of mud. He placed them all over the entrance all, three on every step up the grand staircase, and all a long hallway of classrooms on the first floor."

"Tell them what you two had come up with just before that," Charlie prompted gently.

"Oh…we created these little capsules to hold exploding powder. Once the capsule was dropped into a liquid it would vanish in thirty seconds. So after he set up all these buckets of much he started back the way he came and dropped one of the exploding capsules into each bucket. He made it down the hallway, down the staircase and was halfway across the great hall when they started exploding…" George faded out.

Percy picked up the story, "Just as he finished them all the buckets on the grand staircase started to explode. Each bucket shot mud out at about a 30 foot radius, coating everything around them. Portraits, walls, ceilings, unsuspecting students,"

"and Filch!" George said triumphantly, a ghost of his old grin plainly evident on his face.

The entire kitchen erupted in laughter then.

"He covered Filch in mud?" Hermione asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes!" George crowed. "He walked out of his office to see what all the commotion was just as the two buckets of mud George sat outside his door exploded. He was completely covered. Fred was too, actually, but he didn't mind."

"I do believe that was the loudest Howler you two ever received," Percy said quietly.

"Yes, I shouted myself quite hoarse at that one!" Mrs. Weasley replied. "I'm still amazed you two never managed to get yourselves chucked out."

"They always knew where to draw the line," Hermoine said, the corner's of her mouth turning up slightly even as tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.

"Though they may have occasionally put a toe across," Ron said after her, noticeably grinning now.

"However, that had to be the most mayhem they caused at once until Umbridge came." Harry said.

"I do believe you are correct, Harry." George said, smiling now, "Fred and I caused much mayhem together, our greatest combined effort being our fight against Umbridge the Foul, but the Mud Volcano erupting all over Filch and the rest of the castle was indeed Fred's greatest solo accomplishment."

Luna began to clap rather loudly and yelled, "Fred lives on!"

George grinned broadly at the family and friends that were gathered and all of them smiled back at him. They knew that Fred would never walk through the door again, or pull a prank worthy of Mrs. Weasley's shouting, but he would never truly be gone from them as long as each of them remembered him fondly. As long as they reminisced from time to time about his greatest schemes and accomplishments he would be with them.

George echoed Luna in a soft whisper, "Fred lives on!"


End file.
